Robert A. White

Robert A. White

Florida State University

I am a Ph.D student in economics at the Florida State University and a research assistant for the Experimental Social Science Research Group at Florida State (XS/FS). A copy of my CV can be found here.

Disclaimer: This website is still very much a work in progress

Research

Florida State University

Research Interests

I am most interested in the design of auctions, asset markets, and public goods provision mechanisms in laboratory human subjects experiments and the application of such to economic problems outside the lab.

If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?

Albert Einstein

Teaching

Florida State University

Teaching Philosophy

It is not unreasonable to think that the students enrolled in a college level course might have varied opinions about how their performance should be evaluated. It is possible that this variance in preferences is driven by students knowing (or thinking they know) how they learn best. It is also possible that not all students want the same thing from the course. More specifically, for whatever reason some students want to learn through homework assignments and participation during lectures while others want to learn in the process of preparing for exams.

Teaching should be such that what is offered is perceived as a valuable gift and not as a hard duty.

Albert Einstein

In an attempt to accommodate these heterogeneous preferences for learning I offer students the choice of two syllabi during the first week of class. Students can elect to have only two factors contributing to their course grade: a midterm exam and a final exam. The alternative is for their course grade to be determined by attendance (a proxy for participation), homework assignments (completed in groups of up to four), a midterm exam, and a final exam. To be eligible to switch syllabi after the first week a student must complete a project which is generally very challenging and time intensive. The specfic nature of the project depends on the course.

The wildly optimistic hope is that students will choose the syllabus which best facilitates them learning some economics. More practically, students taking the course who simply want to check the appropriate box on their way to graduation can use me as a commitment device to aid in acheiving that aim if they so choose. In my completely biased opinion students who choose the later option are more likely to be successful in classes I teach as well as in their academic pursuits generally.

Class Summer 2012

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Personal

Shrigley's Pub and Package Store

Shrigley Beverage Company

In my spare time I enjoy making beer, wine, cider, and mead. As hobbies sometimes do, mine has grown to the point of near obsession at times. A copy of my brew log can be found here. The label of every bottle I give to friends and family showcases the Shrigley Beverage Company brand.

The light is on most every night at Shrigley’s Pub and Package Store and current inventory is listed below. Stop by for a drink if you are in the neighborhood.

Contact

Florida State University